


stay perfect

by orphan_account



Category: Fall Out Boy
Genre: Fluff, Hiatus fic, Nonbinary Character, Short n sweet, Trans Character, am I projecting my trans angst onto Patrick? Maybe!, but not a sad one, will I write more of this to project more emotions because this is my catharsis? maybe!, you can't prove I wrote this you can't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 19:13:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12115365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Patrick Stump Comes Out As Nonbinary, it says, in huge bold letters that etch their way into Pete's eyes the more he stares at them.---or: the random one where Patrick comes out as nonbinary during the hiatus.





	stay perfect

**Author's Note:**

> hi it's me the author who immediately orphans things when I like them and wanna post them but don't wanna take responsibility. but hey guys I am weirdly in love with the concept of nonbinary Patrick 
> 
> so here's me projecting my Trans Dude Angst onto Patrick Stump at 1 am. thanks

Pete seems to have chosen the most inconvenient time to take a "healing internet cleanse". 

The concept had honestly sounded bullshit from the start, but all the internet had brought him lately was insistent reminders of past mistakes. So he had thought, hey, I'll turn off my phone for three days and everything will be magically fixed. 

The torrential flood of tweets and Instagram comments and messages on social media platforms that Pete didn't even know he _had_ , all of which read some variation of _did you hear about Patrick_ , _what do you think about the Patrick thing_ , _did you already know about Patrick?_ , Patrick, Patrick, _Patrick_ , says otherwise. 

Something has obviously happened in the past three days, and fuck if Pete has any idea what it is. 

He's shaking a little as he opens google and types in simply "Patrick Stump". He clicks on the first result in a heartbeat, because just the title alone makes it obvious this is what he's looking for. 

_Patrick Stump Comes Out As Nonbinary_ , it says, in huge bold letters that etch their way into Pete's eyes the more he stares at them. He starts reading, but it becomes quickly obvious the author is an asshole and Pete won't learn anything from this. He clicks out of the article and back to google, trying to find some other source. 

One of the top results is a YouTube video. Pete clicks on it. 

It's an interview of some sort, Patrick sitting and talking to a woman with a businesslike tight ponytail. And, uh, wow, Pete needs to pause it before it even starts. 

Patrick looks...uh, wow. Patrick has always been wow, at least to Pete, but holy _shit_ is this wow of a different kind entirely. Patrick is clad in high waisted cutoff jeans shorts with fishnet stockings underneath, glittery red shoes that were probably stolen straight from Wizard Of Oz, a matching loose red t-shirt tucked into the high top of the shorts with a leather jacket thrown over it, and enough makeup to paint a fucking mural. And it's not just that this new androgynous type of look looks _amazing_ on Patrick - it's something else, too, something Pete can't put his finger on until suddenly he can. 

Patrick looks happy. Like, totally, completely, actually happy. There's a level of contentment and comfort in his smile that Pete's never seen before. The thought hits Pete like a truck at eighty miles an hour - Patrick has totally and completely figured himself out. And he looks overjoyed about it. 

Pete presses play. The interviewer is trying to introduce Patrick, and it becomes obvious that there's a live studio audience when they won't stop cheering, cutting off her futile attempts. 

Finally, everyone quiets down and the interviewer begins to speak. "Hello, I'm Carmen Miller," she begins, "and welcome to Chatting With Carmen. Here with me today is Patrick Stump, who is, frankly, one of my favorite singers...he has recently-"

"I'm sorry, I think you meant they."

Pete pauses the video and swears under his breath. Fuck, now he feels like an asshole. He should've looked that shit up the second he found out. 

Too late now. He knows now and now he isn't going to screw it up. 

For the first time, Pete actually notices the title of the video. It reads proudly _patrick stump, fucking nonbinary icon, takes no shit_. Pete can't hold back a laugh as he presses play again. 

The video begins again as the interviewer - Carmen, was it? - catches Patrick's comment and cocks her head to the side, confused. "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, no, it's just that you were saying 'he has', and I'm pretty sure what you meant was 'they have', but you know, it's fine, I didn't expect everyone to catch on," Patrick continues, shrugging nonchalantly like this is no big deal, in a display of confidence Pete doesn't think he's ever seen them match before. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Carmen says blankly, frowning. 

"I really don't want to have to get into this whole thing when I'm sure you really just want to do an interview," Patrick says, regarding Carmen carefully, "but if you could repeat that again and just say 'they' this time that would be _great_."

Pete can tell it's gonna go south before Carmen even opens her mouth again. And when she does, she proves him right. 

"What? That doesn't even make sense." Carmen's brow furrows, and she looks skeptical at best, condescending at worst. 

"It...really kind of does," Patrick responds slowly, raising a challenging eyebrow. 

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that. I'm just going to start over-" Carmen begins, and Pete decides he kind of wants to kill her. 

"If you say 'he' again I will literally walk out of here," Patrick deadpans, and Pete can't quite tell if they're bluffing or not - though he'd go with not. 

Carmen locks eyes with them and says slowly and deliberately, "He has recently-"

"Fuck you," Patrick says courteously, rising from their chair and spinning around, walking out without another word. Someone in the crowd yells "GET IT, HON!" and Patrick turns one last time to grin towards the voice before disappearing entirely from view. The video ends. 

When Pete checks, he finds that the video has tens of millions of views. It fills him with a strange pride. God damn. 

Pete does a little extra research for one specific thing - he wants to know what exactly Patrick did to launch all this mess. 

He finds the answer fast, in the form of a video posted on Patrick's twitter. He presses play on this video, too, settling back to watch it. 

"Hi!" Patrick says onscreen, grinning at the camera. They aren't quite as decked out in their androgynous getup as they were in the interview video, but there's definitely a ring of smudged eyeliner around their eyes. Pete wonders if he should be embarrassed that it's the first thing he notices. 

Video Patrick continues, obviously oblivious to real life Pete's thoughts. "There's something I sort of need to tell you guys, and I thought writing out a post about something like this was too tacky, so I wanted to tell you face to face. Kind of. Does this count?" They pause to laugh, grin widening. "That's not important. What's important is this - I'm nonbinary." A pause, like they're waiting for the shock to hit anyone watching. And then they pick right back up where they left off. "I can't assume everyone watching this is going to be like 'oh yeah, that's cool, I know exactly what that means', so here's a crash course. You probably know the gender binary, right? Like, the whole 'you can only be male or female choose one or fucking die' bullshit, or whatever. Except, I'm not?" Here they pause for a laugh. "I really don't fit into either category. So that's what I'm trying to say here. Uh, am I missing something?" They look thoughtful for a moment, then brighten up, adding, "Oh, yeah, uh, I prefer they/them pronouns, I'm keeping my name the same...and that's about it. I'll try to answer questions if you have them. Thank you!" And the video ends. 

Pete has been grinning so hard without even realizing it. So what if he hasn't talked to Patrick in months - he still feels fucking proud. 

He doesn't want to try and text them, at the risk of breaking the steady you-don't-bother-me-I-don't-bother-you relationship they've been balanced at for a while now, so he simply makes a short tweet. 

_so proud of my pal Patrick. keep doing your thing you're doing great_

///

The text comes in the next morning. Nothing elaborate, just three simple words. 

_Thanks for that._

Pete doesn't respond. He just savors it. 

///

Pete has already forgotten what he's doing at this bar. He's pretty sure he was invited here by a friend, but either they've already abandoned him, or they never showed up. So here he is at the bar, ordering a beer and hoping he doesn't look as alone as he feels. 

"Can I get a beer? I assume you know your best," Pete requests tiredly. 

"Coming right up, sir," the bartender, who is probably way younger than Pete and barely legally able to bartend anyway, says perkily, going to get the drink. 

He returns just as someone sits down next to Pete, and as the bartender hands the beer over to Pete the newcomer asks, "Hey, can I get a glass of wine? Don't particularly care which one. Thanks."

"Uh, sure, si...uh...m - ma'am? Uh..." the bartender stammers out, brow furrowing. 

"It's alright. Take your time," the newcomer says, laughing afterwards. 

Pete's stomach twists as the voice clicks into place in his memory. There is no fucking way-

Actually, he's not even surprised when he turns and finds Patrick sitting next to him, grinning at the bartender in amusement. They're dressed up in a creamy white sleeveless crop top, a tight red velvet miniskirt, and knee high black boots that are kicking restlessly against the bar. They've neglected to use any makeup today, but it doesn't make them any less breathtaking. And it also doesn't make it any less obvious how content they are - how happy this makes them. Pete can't say he isn't happy for them too. 

Patrick seems to notice someone is staring, and turns towards Pete. Their eyes snap wide open the second they realize who they're sitting next to. 

"Hey," Pete says nervously, picking up his beer and taking a sip in a failed effort to not look nervous. 

"Hey," Patrick responds softly, watching as the bartender returns with a glass of red wine. They accept it gratefully, and tell the bartender, "Thanks."

"Uh, you're welcome, uh...s-" the bartender begins anxiously, still staring at Patrick in confusion like they're a puzzle he just can't get right. 

"You don't need to figure my gender out to get me a drink," Patrick says, taking a sip of the wine and winking, laughing as the flustered bartender bolts away to another customer. Patrick chuckles to themselves one last time, then turns back to Pete and greets him with, "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's...it's pretty good," Pete answers, shrugging. "Pretty boring, really."

Patrick laughs. "You can imagine I haven't been bored much recently."

"I bet not." Pete finds himself smiling gently at Patrick. Patrick smiles right back. 

"I'm trying to take everything one thing at a time, y'know?" Patrick asks, taking another sip of wine and sighing. "It's just that I...sorry, I know we haven't talked in ages and I shouldn't just rant now of all times-"

"Go ahead," Pete tells them encouragingly. "I don't care. You deserve a chance to rant."

Patrick lets out a sigh of relief. "Thank you. All I was really going to say is...some people suck. It's been a tough couple days. And I know it's probably only going to get worse, but...I don't know. I feel selfish saying it, but it feels so weird for this to be hard for people when it's so easy for me."

"No, that makes sense!" Pete assures them, nodding vigorously. "In every photo and video in the past couple days and even now you've just seemed so much more _comfortable_ and I'm super proud of you for figuring this out. This is amazing and I'm happy for you."

Patrick smiles, going a little red. "Thank you."

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking..." Pete continues, "when did you figure this out?"

Patrick shrugs, taking another sip of their wine and then setting it down again before answering, "That's a long answer. Really, I think I've kind of...in a way, I've kind of known for a while. I just didn't have any words for it so I ignored it because I thought it couldn't possibly be a good thing. But then a couple weeks ago I fell down an Internet rabbit hole and found the word nonbinary and everything just - just _clicked_." They pause to grin, a joyful expression that makes Pete's heart soar. "It was like...yeah, that's it. That's me, that's what I've been feeling this entire time. It was crazy." They chuckle warmly, meeting Pete's eyes and finishing, "Nothing has ever felt that good."

"That's amazing," Pete tells them, and he's not lying. Patrick just grins wider. 

"I suppose it's alright," they say with a short laugh. 

Pete can't stop himself from pulling them into a tight hug. It's the only thing that feels fit to congratulate them. 

"This is amazing. You're amazing," he tells them, holding them tighter and grinning. "I'm so fucking happy for you."

Patrick laughs, relaxing into Pete's grip. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

**Author's Note:**

> please please please comment !! and yknow if you wanna prompt me so I can write more for this ... you can in the comments ... please


End file.
